Omukwaniilwa Immanuel Kauluma Elifas (born.c. 1 January 1934
Epale – 26 March 2019
Onandjokwe) was a chief of the
Ondonga, a sub-tribe of
Owambo people since 28 August 1975, in
Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
having succeeded his brother the late Chief
Fillemon Elifas Shuumbwa Fillemon Elifas Shuumbwa (October 10, 1932 – August 16, 1975) was the chief of Ondonga and chief minister of Ovamboland (1972–75). The Ondonga tribal area is situated around Namutoni on the eastern edge of Etosha pan in today's northern Namib ...
who was gunned down the same year at
Onamagongwa. The Ondonga tribal area is situated around
Namutoni
Namutoni is a restcamp on the edge of Etosha pan in the Oshikoto Region in northern Namibia. It is one of the entrance gates to Etosha National Park.
The most prominent structure at Namutoni is ''Fort Namutoni'', built in 1896. It was originally ...
on the eastern edge of
Etosha pan
The Etosha Pan is a large endorheic salt pan, forming part of the Cuvelai-Etosha Basin in the north of Namibia. It is a hollow in the ground in which water may collect or in which a deposit of salt remains after water has evaporated. The 120-kilo ...
in northern Namibia. Kauluma was also the Chairperson of the Council of Traditional Leaders for many years. He was succeeded as King by the designate Omukwaniilwa of Ondonga, his great-grandson
Fillemon Shuumbwa Nangolo.
Biography
Omukwaniilwa Kauluma was the one of the longest serving leaders of the Ondonga kingdom, having ascended to the throne in August 1975. He served for 44 years as the king of
Ondonga Kingdom;
Nembungu lyAmutundu 1750 – ca. 1820 (Iinenge) was the last ruler to rule for 60 years. The Ondonga kingdom has been rocked by infighting linked to the succession battle in recent years. Elifas named his nephew
Fillemon Shuumbwa Nangolo as his successor in 2002 and confirmed to government again in June 2012. Nangolo’s nomination was, however, disputed by the
Ondonga royal family. This led to irreconcilable differences, which saw Elifas getting rid of some of his long-serving top aides, who have been backing Prince Nangolo as heir apparent. In July 2017, Elifas dismissed the late former Ondonga Traditional Authority (OTA) chairperson Peter Kauluma and former OTA spokesperson Joseph Asino. Heavyweights such as senior headman John Walenga and former Oshikoto governor Vilho Kamanya were also expelled from the traditional authority. Three other councillors - Kashona kaMalulu, Tonata Ngulu and Fillemon Nambili – were also been dismissed. The infighting turned nasty as the dismissed councillors turned to the courts and an order was granted in the
Oshakati
Oshakati is a town in northern Namibia. It is the regional capital of the Oshana Region and one of Namibia's largest places.
Oshakati was founded in July 1966 and proclaimed a town in 1992. The town was used as a base of operations by the S ...
High Court compelling Elifas to give oral testimony. At the time, Elifas’ legal team argued that the application to have the king testify was an attempt to test his mental capabilities in an open court. Several leaders, including head of state
Hage Geingob
Hage Gottfried Geingob (born 3 August 1941) is a Namibian politician, serving as the third president of Namibia since 21 March 2015. Geingob was the first Prime Minister of Namibia from 1990 to 2002, and served as prime minister again from 201 ...
and former president
Sam Nujoma
Samuel Shafiishuna Daniel Nujoma, (; born 12 May 1929) is a Namibian revolutionary, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served three terms as the first President of Namibia, from 1990 to 2005. Nujoma was a founding member and the first ...
also tried to intervene in the impasse. At one point, Geingob summoned the factions to
State House of Namibia and pleaded with the dismissed councillors to drop the court case so that the king would not be "paraded in court of law and embarrassed in front of his people".
See also
*
List of Ondonga kings
*
Ndonga dialect
Ndonga, also called Oshindonga, is a Bantu dialect spoken in Namibia and parts of Angola. It is a standardized dialect of the Ovambo language, and is mutually intelligible with Kwanyama, the other Ovambo dialect with a standard written form. Wi ...
*
Ovambo language
The Ovambo () language is a dialect cluster spoken by the Ovambo people in southern Angola and northern Namibia, of which the written standards are Kwanyama and Ndonga.
The native name for the language is ''Oshiwambo'' (also written ''Oshi ...
References
External links
"Namibia Traditional Polities" at World Statesmen.org
Bantu peoples
1934 births
2019 deaths
History of Namibia
Namibian chiefs
Ovambo people
People from Oshikoto Region
Ondonga royalty
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